Penguins News

THIESSEN SELECTED CCM/AHL GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, in conjunction with the American Hockey League, announced today that Brad Thiessen has been selected as the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month for January.

In seven appearances during the month, Thiessen was 5-2-0 with a 1.36 goals-against average, a .940 save percentage and three shutouts for the Penguins.

Coming off a winless December (0-4-1), Thiessen allowed two goals or fewer in six of his seven starts in January, beginning the month with a 30-save blanking of Worcester on Jan. 5, his first shutout since Nov. 4, 2011. Following a 2-0 loss to Connecticut on Jan. 6, Thiessen earned another shutout, this time with 23 saves in a 1-0 decision over Hershey on Jan. 11. He was on the winning end of a 2-1 decision vs. Adirondack on Jan. 12 and a 4-2 win at Norfolk on Jan. 15, and he posted his third shutout of the month with 26 saves in a 3-0 triumph over St. John’s on Jan. 23.

A 26-year-old native of Aldergrove, B.C., Thiessen has made 18 appearances for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, going 8-8-1 with a 2.62 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage and three shutouts. A fourth-year pro out of Northeastern University, Thiessen has a career record of 80-45-5 with 16 shutouts in 135 games with the Penguins, and was the winner of the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender in 2010-11. Thiessen made his National Hockey League debut with Pittsburgh last season, going 3-1-0 in five appearances.

In recognition of his achievement, Thiessen will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Penguins home game.

Thiessen becomes the second Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goalie to earn the honor this season as teammate Jeff Zatkoff was selected as AHL Goaltender of the Month in November.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins host the Manchester Monarchs tonight at 7:05PM. Individual seats for all Penguins home games are available at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com, and by calling 800-745-3000.